Fire Eyes
by xx.cityofangel
Summary: Growing up, fire had always been both her closest companion and the demon that followed her. CHAPTER THREE; FIREWORKS
1. Memories of Fire

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters.

_Summary: _Growing up Riza's life has been nothing but filled with fire.

_Author's Note: _I should probably update _Checkmate_ or _Coffee_ _Break_, for those of you who are reading those.. but, this idea wouldn't get unwritten from my brain. (: And yes, the summary sucks. If anyone could help me with a summary, I'd definitely listen to any suggestions.

FIRE EYES  
_chapter one: memories of fire_

_--_

"Look, Riza." she looks at the fleeting winged insects as they swarm in the air, and wonders why their wings are fire coloured. She asks her father, and he shrugs petulantly. She turns back to watch them writhe in the air.

"They're called Monarchs, Rize, Monarch Butterflies. Beautiful, aren't they?" She cannot think of them as beautiful but she does not tell him so. She knows better than to disagree with his opinions when his state of mind is anything less than clear.

"Monarchs.. tell me, Riza, dear.." he comments absentmindedly before turning bloodshot eyes to hers, and she suddenly realizes she desperately misses her father, though he is there with her and, arguably, not, "would you agree to helping me with my Alchemy research?"

She has seen Roy deal with her father in his fits of Alchemy driven insanity, and though she is fearful she has sworn to be courageous like her father's dark-eyed apprentice.

"_Yes._"

--

How fitting that one of teh fire wielding butterflies has settled by her nose. When she and Father arrived home from their 'walk' she had spoke nothing of Father's conversation to Roy. Presently, she stares at the butterfly as Father presses fire to her back. The pain is incredible and she fights teh red threatening to engulf her consciousness but she does not cry out.

She hears Father's attempted comfortings mixed with his morbid mutterings.

The delicate butterfly flutters closer and bats its frail wings against her eyelids. Her pain increases immensely and she closes her eyes. The fire butterfly settles burningly against her throat and steals the air from her breath. She gasps for oxygen but receives nothing but scorching heat against her throat. She presses her eyelids closed and tries to push away the red pain but it does not lift off her chest.

She feels the ink seeping deep down through her skin and fless, guided by the heated metallic of teh tattoo needle.

The world dissipates in a whilring red mass.


	2. Fireheart

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters.

_Summary: _Growing up Riza's life has been nothing but filled with fire. How she grew up with fire as her constant companion.

_Author's Note: _(: There's Roy in this chapter. And Maes. Cause I love Maes, too. And Havoc. Cause he's awesome too. I don't actually know if Havoc was in the Ishbal war, but if he was ignore this sentence and if he wasn't, he is in this story. :D. Oh yeah, by the way, this story skips scenes, so whereas the last chapter took place during her childhood with her father, this chapter skips forward into Ishbal. The beginning of Ishbal, anyway. And yes, I know this doesn't fit the actual Ishbal timeline, but I figured it was better this way.

FIRE EYES  
_chapter two: fireheart _

_--_

She finds it quite strange. Perhaps she even finds it incredibly strange.

She shudders into the cold of the night as the truck rattles on towards the Ishbalan desert. It is quiet. Quiet so that she can hear the breathing of each of the men stationed in the truck along with her. She groans softly in discomfort as she shrugs away the sleepiness and pulls herself up from her slumped position atop of Roy's chest.

Roy, to her left, smiles down at her and tugs on a strand of her hair fondly as she pulls away from her past position of sleeping while sitting slumped on him. His murmured, "Hey." prompts her to nod at him drowsily as the other three men in the truck echo his comment. Havoc, to her right, tosses down a card and Maes grumbles his disapprovement. Armstrong laughs and mutters something about card playing being the only thing not passed down the Armstrong line. Roy simply smirks, fingers rubbing the stubble along his face.

She straightens, watching their game of poker.

Maes wins the game, he always manages to and by the end of the game she's managed to learn the rules of the game, though she has not played it before. They play a few more rounds, offering her a spot, which she refuses. After a while, Havoc throws down his hand, reaching his hands up to stretch and groaning as several things pop.

"I'm gonna sleep," he states, settling down to the hard floor of the truck and managing to keep his cigar in place. It was a habit he'd picked up during the last few weeks of sniper training and though she wasn't fond of the scent of his smoke, she figures it to be a habit mostly to prevent him from simply toppling over from the stress of war.

Not five minutes later, he straightens, grumbling, "Rize, wanna be my pillow? This floor is damn hard."

Smiling and hitting his chest half-heartedly as he draws her into a hug and bending down to lean his head on her shoulder. "Hey. Keep your hands off my Riza, Jean." Roy, pulling Riza and smirking as Havoc's head dipped, almost hitting the floor as he pulled her towards him.

"Hey!" Havoc complains, "You already got your time to act as her pillow!"

"There's a reason she chose me and not you." grins Roy. "Hey guys. Control yourselves, here." comments Maes idly, grinning wolfishly, "Oh by chance Riza, will you marry me?" Laughing as Maes mock kneels, holding out an invisible ring to her, she laughs as Havoc promptly punches Maes on the shoulder. Toppling over melodramatically, Maes pretends to look offended, looking utterly shocked as he points his finger at the smoker, "Roy! He punched me! Aren't you going to do something about it?"

"You proposed to my future wife, you're lucky I don't transmute a knife outta this truck." replies Roy smoothly, eyes seemingly completely serious.

"Gentlemen, look." speaks out Armstrong for the first time, "A butterfly, a Monarch, I believe."

The truck is silent, Roy's arm still perched in its spot on her shoulders as they watch it enchantedly as the fiery creature flaps its way around the truck, leaving a trace of heat as its wings brush silently against the skin on her shoulder bared by the tank top she wore. She curls away from it instinctively and it flutters away from her and out the gap at the top of the truck.

It continues to rattle on its way and the group returns to its amicably chatter about who should get to marry Riza.

And it's strange, but she doesn't think she's ever felt as belonging as she does in that truck with the four men around her. She's always known fire to be a bad thing, but she decides it's not so bad when it's created in her heart by people like these men. In fact, she rather likes it when the unuttered bonds between the little family they've become can only be described by her as fire.

It was strange, indeed.

--

_Author's Note: _If you're wondering whether there's Havocai in this story, my answer's a no in the strict sense of the word. It's not a Havoc/Riza romantic relationship, but a brother/sister relationship. I do like the idea of Havoc being one of Riza's dearest and closest friends, because honestly I do like Havoc as a character. So, no. It's not Havocai romantically but I do think I want to stress Havoc & Riza's friendship in this story. And actually this chapter wasn't meant to be Royai romantically, either, because I don't think they really find out that they have feelings for each other until later in the plot. So for this chapter the Roy / Riza interaction was meant to be very deeply bonded friends just like Havoc's relationship with Riza.

However, I never got the feel that Riza and Maes were very close. They are friends, no doubt, but more distant, Maes gives Riza advice that a close friend can't give just cause they're biased, kind of relationship. I think mostly this is just cause Maes and Roy are so close. I guess in a sense, my thoughts on Maes and Riza's relationship is kind of a like an older guy who takes someone younger under his wing, but doesn't spend every second worrying over her like Roy and Havoc would.

But those are just mind thoughts. (: Boy that was a long finished chapter note thingy.


	3. Fireworks

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters.

_Summary: _Growing up Riza's life has been nothing but filled with fire. How she grew up with fire as her constant companion.

_Author's Note: _Sorry I poofed from writing for a while, start of school and all that jazz.

FIRE EYES  
_chapter three: fireworks_

_--_

Despite the crimson glow of the early morning, the unnatural brightness in the near distance is seen as easily as had it been night. She shudders involuntarily as the first Ishbalan rises to the top of the hill, soldiers she had fought alongside being left sprawled in the stained blood as the Ishbalans came. She feels the soldiers around her tense, Havoc to her right, Roy to the left, Maes beside him.

Her breath catches roughly in her throat as crimson eyes meet her own carmine, so like theirs. She sees uncertainty flicker amidst his eyes, and knows it is not only for her life that her 'enemy' fears for.

She knows as well as any of them do, the red-eyed population could have just as easily stomped over them, but their sympathy and reluctance to form an actual battle plan against the Military handicapped them. She wishes they would do something terrible to set her sonscience at ease, but matters like this cannot be justified so effortlessly.

Her fear for her, and her friends' lives are muffled for the ones in front of her, and questions why people fighting for the same reasons are fighting on opposite sides. She never had been one to appreciate counter-productiveness, but her reasons are standing besdie her and war leaves no time for second-thinking. She has learned long ago never to falter.

They rise up, blood covered and beautiful and exotic to her eyes, though she knows why not.

The fluttery fire winged creatures catch her eye then, just as beautiful as the ones they flock. They eyes or faded echoes of the weary eyes in front of her and had she been an artist, this would have been one moment she would wish to capture in full colour and beauty.

But she is a soldier, and her job is to destroy it. The creatures in the air rear defiantly against her will, flaring their red orange wings in front of the rising sun, and she can almost see the air swirling around their wings in a mini hurricane as she can when Roy bends fire to his will.

She thinks oddly that Roy, despite dark hair and dark eyes would have fit well with the beautiful exotic people in front of her.

A bullet breaks out hesitantly from within their ranks somewhere, then hell breaks loose.

--

The fire swirls demurely around his form, lashing out and protecting its wielder, she lets out a bullet, turning her eyes and knowing already that they bullet pierced the chest of the Ishbalan approaching too close to Roy.

She turns back to him, watching almost in a trance as the flames dance delightedly around him, odd wisps flickering out from the larger flame to disappear with a poof in the air, and then he is above her. She isn't sure when but somewhere within that split second she had lost concentration, one of the enemy had managed to creep up behind her, Roy had lunged to push her roughly to the ground, all the while letting out a fire maelstrom twisting and dancing above their heads, close enough to warm her face but far enough that it just brushed the tips of his locks.

She catches glimpses of butterflies fluttering above his head and faintly hears him yelling something distantly to her.

Her ears are dead to him and she allows her weary eyes to close for just a second. The world explodes in a flurry of fireworks and her minds succumbs to the arms of sleep.

--

_Author's Note: _Okay. Well. I was thinking about whether I want this story to be a follow up (very very vaguely) to the manga/anime, or whether I want an actually plot in this story. If I am doing a plot I know what it will be already, but I have not decided yet. Feel free to leave your opinion on whether you want a kind of collection of parts loosely intertwined with the manga, or a semi-AU plot.


End file.
